Cost of living comparison

Uganda

compared to

Ethiopia

Ethiopia vs. Uganda Cost of Living Summary

Ethiopia is 52.2% more expensive than Uganda overall.

Restaurants: pay 37.1% more in Ethiopia
Groceries: pay 12.2% more in Ethiopia
Transportation: pay 35.3% more in Ethiopia
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Ethiopia
Childcare: pay 40.6% more in Ethiopia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.6% less in Ethiopia
Clothing: pay 2.8 times more in Ethiopia

The cost of clothing, housing, childcare, restaurants, transportation, and groceries in Ethiopia are more expensive than in Uganda. Notably, clothing and housing are significantly more expensive in Ethiopia.

Planning a move to Ethiopia? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Ethiopia vs. Uganda Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Ethiopia instead of Uganda, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 37.1% more for restaurants

	Uganda	Ethiopia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.45 UGX10,151	$4.00 ETB654.34	+63.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.36 UGX30,452	$6.50 ETB1,063.31	-11.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 UGX1,523	$0.61 ETB99.06	+64.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 UGX1,107	$0.66 ETB107.50	+145.5%
Average			+37.1%

Uganda vs. Ethiopia - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 12.2% more for groceries

	Uganda	Ethiopia
Bread 1 loaf	$0.91 UGX3,747	$1.19 ETB194.58	+31.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.18 UGX9,009	$3.70 ETB604.57	+69.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.90 UGX11,976	$4.09 ETB669.40	+41.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.58 UGX6,530	$1.77 ETB289.63	+12.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.05 UGX8,472	$4.59 ETB750.34	+124.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.95 UGX3,939	$2.44 ETB399.44	+156.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.57 UGX2,353	$0.30 ETB48.73	-47.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.59 UGX2,430	$0.99 ETB161.65	+68.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 UGX2,225	$0.31 ETB50.42	-42.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 UGX2,302	$0.22 ETB35.99	-60.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.56 UGX2,302	$0.49 ETB79.77	-12.4%
Average			+12.2%

Uganda vs. Ethiopia - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.3% more for transportation

	Uganda	Ethiopia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.31 UGX21,961	$3.53 ETB577.22	-33.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$42.68 UGX177K	$21.11 ETB3,453.30	-50.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,361.98 UGX30M	$55,000.00 ETB9M	+647.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.94 UGX12,181	$3.53 ETB576.64	+19.7%
Average			+35.3%

Uganda vs. Ethiopia - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Uganda	Ethiopia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$34.66 UGX143K	$212.33 ETB34,734.76	+512.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$482.64 UGX2M	$706.95 ETB116K	+46.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$167.36 UGX692K	$394.55 ETB64,542.82	+135.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$53.08 UGX220K	$156.76 ETB25,644.51	+195.3%
Average			+111.4%

Uganda vs. Ethiopia - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 40.6% more for childcare

	Uganda	Ethiopia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$251.43 UGX1M	$136.41 ETB22,314.75	-45.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,279.19 UGX34M	$30,187.50 ETB5M	+264.6%
Average			+40.6%

Uganda vs. Ethiopia - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 32.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Uganda	Ethiopia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.23 UGX5,075	$0.80 ETB130.87	-34.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.53 UGX10,471	$0.92 ETB150.32	-63.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.45 UGX10,151	$8.00 ETB1,308.69	+226.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.21 UGX228K	$44.15 ETB7,221.55	-20.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.36 UGX30,452	$3.75 ETB613.45	-49.1%
Average			-32.6%

Uganda vs. Ethiopia - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.8 times more for clothing

	Uganda	Ethiopia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$13.80 UGX57,098	$33.14 ETB5,421.12	+140.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$12.88 UGX53,292	$70.86 ETB11,591.24	+450.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$31.90 UGX132K	$78.65 ETB12,865.68	+146.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$43.25 UGX179K	$82.70 ETB13,529.26	+91.2%
Average			+180.9%

Uganda vs. Ethiopia - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Uganda vs. Ethiopia

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Ethiopia?

Quality of Life Comparison · 21 statistics

Be 2.5 times more likely to have internet access in Ethiopia

Size Comparison · See true size

Uganda is about 4.6 times smaller than Ethiopia.

Moving from Uganda to Ethiopia · UN DESA 2020

202 people born in Uganda live in Ethiopia.

More cost comparisons

Uganda vs.

Kenya

Uganda vs.

Rwanda

Uganda vs.

United Kingdom

Uganda vs.

United States

Uganda vs.

India

Uganda vs.

Canada

Uganda vs.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Uganda vs.

South Africa

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Kampala vs. Addis Ababa

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Uganda

Add prices for Ethiopia

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Ethiopia or Uganda. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.